State of the Cyber Girls

I haven't touched on the state of the Cyber Girl world in quite some time - in fact, since Bethanie Badertscher was crowned Cyber Girl of the Year earlier this year. That's for a good reason: this year's crop of CGOM's has been absolutely abysmal. While last year we had Bethanie and fringe candidates like Beth Williams, Jennie Reid, Brittany Leigh, Elizabeth Mendez, and Reby Sky, this year we have no one of the sort.

Petite beauty Samantha Pirie
is one of the biggest
CGOM snubs this year

While in 2010 we had some viable alternatives, 2011 gives us jack squat, and we're in trouble for it. Veronica LaVery and Kayleigh Elizabeth seem like frontrunners, but extremely mediocre ones at that. No girl has had any semblance of a spark, and while the Playmate class has found their saviors in the last few months, we can only pray that Playboy will elect a CGOY out of the final few months, or we're in for a real bummer all next year.

Biggest CGOM Snubs

It's not that we haven't seen any great talent come through so far this year. They just haven't won.

First and foremost, the exclusion of Casey Lauren in favor of Kayleigh Elizabeth was a huge shame, but I've already said my two cents about that one. Casey, if she won the CGOM title, would possibly be the frontrunner for CGOY as we speak. With her sleek body and awesome look, it's way too bad, and we can only hope for an Xtra to see some more of her.


One of the huge snubs so far was back in January, where Samantha Pirie was passed over for Kaya Danielle. The cute-as-a-button Canadian was gorgeous in her pictorial, and her sweet and petite little body and adorable presence really should have won her the month and thrust her into the CGOY conversation. I was really looking forward to seeing her branch out into some more sexual material.

Can busty Andrea Leilani
save the dismal 2011 class?

The other potential star to be passed over was Jacinta Rokic, the Austrailian hottie from June who should be the current reigning CGOM. Instead, she was slighted in favor of blond Nicolette Shea, who doesn't have even a fraction of the beauty or talent that Jacinta has. Jacinta's sultry eyes and exotic European looks are extraordinary. I'm still in disbelief that she was dissed in favor of a completely inferior model, but it's not the worst we've seen, after all.

Potential Saviors

Fear not, because there's still time left in the year! What about next month, with clean-cut and intriguing beauty Brittany Alyse? While not seemingly having the depth of talent as other ladies, we might find that she's a star waiting to emerge.

Or better yet, sizzling Latina Andrea Leilani is equally mysterious, but might offer a fresh, interesting look with a bronzed body and curves to boot. Indeed, Andrea's innocent persona and more voluptuous frame make her a good choice.

Besides them, we're not seeing an influx of great candidates that would hope for. We've already seen the two groups of CGOW's left to fill the November and December CGOM spots, and it is, to say the least, incredibly unimpressive. Playboy missed some serious opportunities to boost the class early on, and now it seems that we might be stuck with the worst class of Cyber Girls in history.

No Other Choice

Kayla Love
CGOM December 2011

While 2011 was a decent year for Playmates, with things looking up in the second half of the year, the same can't be said for Cyber Girls as of late. The year was abysmal for Cyber Girl of the Year candidates, with no one seemingly taking the lead as we saw last year. In 2010, Bethanie Badertscher looked like a lock as soon as her pictorial debuted. In 2009, there were a handful of excellent candidates who are among the best Cyber Girls ever.

But, there is a saving grace. December's Cyber Girl of the Month, Kayla Love, is fantastic. She is, without a doubt, my choice for CGOY in 2012.

It all starts and ends with her posing talent. Kayla might be the most talented model of the year, even when taking Playmates and other models into account. Just take a look at her pictorials, and you'll understand. Her sinewy body does some awesome things, as she can curl up and minimize her frame to look vulnerable, or she can do her signature move, standing tall and creating a lean, sleek set of lines.

I could go on and on referring to some of her wonderful photos, but the fact is that her slim body and sharp posing sense meld almost magically. She might be a lightweight in appearance, but her curves look spectacular when viewed as a profile, in shots like this one or this.

While Kayla's face might be her Achilles' heel in the end, with a lack of definition that makes her look rather generic, she's still pretty, and this shouldn't detract from her sexy presence. She also looks incredible in videos, flashing a melting gaze along with her ability to stand tall and deliver a great picture.

In the end, the other ladies of 2011's Cyber Girl class don't deserve a full rundown. The bottom line is, there's Kayla, and then there's everyone else. We've seen a similar talent and body type last year (Bethanie, anyone?), and Kayla delivered just as well. However, let's cross our fingers and hope Miss Love  can deliver on a CGOY bid that will dig us out of our current rut.

Hello, Goodbye

In the past three years, you could say we've seen some major missteps in terms of Cyber Girls. We've seen some greats come and go, and a pair of questionable calls at Cyber Girl of the Year (Sharae Spears and Tess Taylor Arlington) made many shake their heads in confusion. How could great entries like Jamie Graham, Trina Marie, Jia Lynn, and Tasha Nicole get tossed aside so easily?

Thankfully, this year's dark cloud has a silver lining. You might have noticed that I did not even bother to write a Cyber Girl Recap post for this year's class, simply because I thought it was abysmal all throughout. Well, except for one girl - Bethanie Badertscher, our 2011 CGOY.

Some might recall how I gushed about Bethanie after her CGOM debut back in July of last year. I went on about how she was the "one to beat" for the CGOY title, and her all-around perfection inspired me to award her a spot in my PlayboyCritic Hall of Fame with an A+ rating. And lo and behold, Bethanie's taken the title with relative ease. And believe me, she won't disappoint.

No, Bethanie could easily be the greatest Cyber Girl of the Year we've seen since Jo Garcia, and could even surpass that prolific woman by leaps and bounds. It's no secret that she's got a lot to live up to: 4 previous CGOYs are in my Hall of Fame (Jo Garcia, Monica Leigh, Amy Sue Cooper, and Merritt Cabal). Those ladies had some dazzling showings in their monthly installments, but I have no doubt Miss Badertscher will be able to hold her own, and eventually cement herself as one of the great Cyber Girls in history.

Seeing her first pictorial just reaffirms my fascination with this girl. Bethanie is just a different breed of poser - a fresh breath in an era of boring Barbie doll models with lifeless posing styles. Beth has loads of talent, and her debut pictorial is saucy and spectacular. The sexy, strappy lingerie combined with a wholly different look offers a window into how Bethanie's reign as CGOY will be. The ability to deliver variety is key, and there may have never been a CGOY with more varied talents like this one. She can change her look with a flip of the hair or a flash of her smile, and her body is just immaculate in every photo. I'll wait to really judge where Bethanie will sit in the order of past CGOYs, but it's safe to say that it will be exciting from beginning to end.

Tess had a rough outing
as CGOY, drawing the ire
of many fans

The same, unfortunately, can't be said about our outgoing Cyber Girl of the Year, Tess Taylor Arlington. Her twelve months have been unbelievably forgettable, and her unfortunate pick over fan favorite Jamie Graham still is a sore spot among many. I held out hope when she was selected, even saying that she would turn out some memorable performances to silence her critics. Now that her reign is over, how would I rank her among the CGOY's of the past?

See my original Cyber Girl of the Year rankings from 2009

#1. Amy Sue Cooper ('05)
#2. Monica Leigh ('06)
#3. Jo Garcia ('08)
#4. Merritt Cabal ('03)
#5. Sharae Spears ('09)
#6. Erika Michelle Barre ('02)
#7. Alicia Burley ('04)
#8. Breann McGregor ('07)
#9. Tess Taylor Arlington ('10)


So there you are. I believe we just went through the worst CGOY we've ever seen. Now that it's over with, we can bask in the glow of Bethanie, who I believe will have a good chance to usurp even the biggest names on that list. Fingers crossed!

Talent In Bloom

With recent posts, I've just been sticking to the Playmate races, more or less. I have my routine of reviewing every single Playmate of the Month, culminating in year end reviews. But sometimes, girls come along in Playboy that truly capture my attention, and they're worth a special mention.

That's what happened yesterday, when two spectacular young talents launched their Playboy careers and immediately caught my eye. I really, truly believe that these two girls have all the talent to become future PlayboyCritic hall-of-famers, and that's no exaggeration.

First off, yesterday's debut of Cyber Girl of the Week Casey Lauren completely blew me away. The 25-year old has a sleek, slender body (only 95 lbs worth) and has a clean cut, smooth look that is beyond words. With the dismal showing of Playboy's Cyber Girl class lately, it's so refreshing to see an exotic fresh face like Casey hit the scene. In a photo like this, you notice that she obviously isn't the voluptuous bombshell that characterizes models of late, but she sure does have an intriguing look that's helped out by her petite figure.

On top of it all, Casey's face is very unique, and her smile bright and youthful. There's something about her face structure and her nose that make her very unlike any girl I've seen, and her dark black hair laid out on those white sheets makes for an immersive experience when looking at her. Not to mention, her posing and posture are excellent.

The thing is - we won't see if Casey pans out to grab a spot at CGOM until 2011. And thus, she's out of the 2010 race, anyway. That's very unfortunate given the boost that this Cyber Girl class could use this year - Casey is probably the best CGOW since Elizabeth Mendez (who flopped miserably in her turn as CGOM).

As for the other girl who absolutely wowed me yesterday: she wasn't a Playmate or a Cyber Girl at all. She was actually part of a forgotten breed of ladies in Playboy - the Coeds. Christine Veronica made her appearance as Coed of the Week, and boy, she was something else. The busty 20 year old is a combination of spunky youthfulness and great posing prowess, with the face of an absolute angel.

Even Christine's outfit got me going; the way she energetically tugs her clothes off is an utter joy to watch. What you notice at first in her fantastic pictorial is how buxom she is. Her body has some meat on it, and that's a good thing. The way she holds her posture, too, complements her fine breasts.

The real kicker about Christine, though, is her face. She has an absolutely spectacular smile, and one that she (thankfully) sustains throughout her pictorial. She never lets up with it, and I loved every little bit. When she flashes those pearly whites, and her eyes squint and glimmer with that beautiful hue, it's heavenly. This is the stuff that elite Playmates are made out of, not amateur college girls. And when you pan away or zoom out, and you see that her picturesque face is coupled with perfectly curved body, you start to appreciate just how special Christine is.

It truly is great to see talent like this come around, but we need to see it cultivate. I beg you, Playboy, to give Christine her due, and move her up the ranks. Give her a Coed of the Month feature, then promote her to Cyber Girl... and please, do it well. You don't want to mess this great talent up. Since she's so comfortable in her own skin, and strikes poses with incredible ease, Christine is without a doubt the best Coed of the year, and easily the best since Jessica DeCarlo of April last year.

Now go, Playboy! Get these two awesome ladies some gigs! They have my support, without a doubt.

The One To Beat

I haven't posted in a little while, and Playboy's been mostly quiet on new releases... for the most part. While we've seen a new entry in terms of Playmates (that's a little inconsequential), I want to comment on a girl that I'm seeing as a turning point for another big contest for 2010: Cyber Girl of the Year.

If any of you follow the Playboy world, you obviously know that it's Bethanie Badertscher, Cyber Girl of the Month for June 2010. Just to put

it out there, this young lady is easily the best Cyber Girl we've seen since Jamie Graham of last year, and possibly the greatest talent in the CG world since Jo Garcia (who made some serious waves two years ago). Bethanie is a force to be reckoned with, for a whole series of reasons.

First and foremost, she is possibly the most surprisingly multi-faceted talent we've seen in a long time. Beth knows how to hit some tight, professional poses with relative ease. She knows exactly what looks good and how to play to the camera. There are countless photos of hers where she looks good, but what's amazing is that her girl-next-door personality and wholesome looks don't detract from the fact that she's wildly sexual. She hits some poses that make your jaw drop and wonder where all the "badness" came from. She can get as down and dirty as possible, and does it with extreme ease.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a body like hers. Bethanie is spun

ky and slim, which makes her a real pleasure to look at. The way she contorts that sinewy body to hit some really adult moves is beyond comprehension, but even when she's passively standing by, she glows like an absolute angel. Even with a whole lot of material in her CGOM shoot, she hits consistently amazing poses, like this one, which aren't overstated, but use her physical ability and subtle touch to deliver a breathtaking scene. Even her smile takes center stage throughout her videos, with a cute, young look that is stunning.

I could go on and on through Beth's material, showing just how consistent her posing prowess can be, but really it's even more than that. Miss Badertscher has some real star quality that sets her apart from everyone so far in 2010, and beyond. This is the sort of girl that we may only see once in a lifetime, and she should certainly be in the top spot for CGOY.

• Face: A+ Bethanie's glowing, cute smile comes across especially well in her video close-ups. It really completes her wholesome, girl-next-door persona, while still allowing her to go the distance with a sexy stare.
• Body: A Beth is slim and petite, but more than that, she can move herself in ways that accentuate her best features. Although she doesn't have the most pronounced butt, the overall trimness of her frame makes her absolutely gorgeous in front of the camera, and complements her persona quite well.
• Talent: A+ After a more traditional retro-style CGOW performance, few could see just how much firepower Beth had in her tank. She brought it in her month's pictorials, with flawless posing knowledge and body control. She's easily the most talented CG in years, with an intensity that rivals even the best Playmates.
• Material: A+ It's what makes the model, and Bethanie has plenty to offer. Her pictorials are varied, dramatic, and always develop into something more. She never sits idly and always has movement, and each picture and video is different from the next.
• Overall: A+ As if I haven't given enough reasons why Bethanie is in my hall of fame, I could still paraphrase it all. Beth is easily the greatest Cyber Girl since Jo Garcia won it all in 2007. She has immeasurable talent in posing, and seems like she was born to be naked. It's not even just a cliche - Bethanie just looks unbelievably natural in the nude, baring it all and then crooning for the camera with absolute ease. The lighting and production value carry her far, as they are as minimalist as possible when shooting such a naturally beautiful girl. Still, the bottom line is that Beth's firecracker sensuality is a shocker, especially coming from such a seemingly innocent young girl. It really all comes together in a tantalizing feast for the senses.

Welcome to the A+ club, Bethanie!

Cyber Girl of the Year - Surprise, Surprise

After seeing the Playmate of the Year choice unveiled as someone who didn't even appear in my top 5, I, as many people, felt that the Cyber Girl of the Year nomination would be limited to two simple choices. Both girls were in my top two, and both were to be sure locks as soon as their monthly pictorial sets were released.

One was Hillary Fisher, who was a huge star as soon as her CGOW pictorial was unveiled. She had the talent, the looks, the body to truly be a major star as CGOY. She had tons of potential, although her CGOM showing fell a bit under par. The other, my #1, was Jamie Graham. Miss Graham easily had the best body I saw in 2009, of any model. Her picture-perfect proportions and incredibly down home good looks were paired with a wonderful knack for posing. I just dreamt of all the amazing pictorials she could bring in an entire year.

Instead, my #3 Cyber Girl won the nomination. It was recently announced that Tess Taylor Arlington won the grand prize of the year. It's easily the most prolific position in the Playboy world, and it immediately ignited mixed reactions in the community. I put Tess as my #3 girl in a pretty weak class - in any other year, I'm not sure if she'd even crack my top 5. However, Tess showed some amazing promise, with a great posing style and an agressive, sexual look.

The huge caveat, though, is Tess' tattoos. Much discussion has been thrown around about them, and if you look at her new CGOY pictorials, she's gotten a couple new celebratory tats, right along her arms. Without the body art, could Tess be broadly accepted as a unanimous winner, but because of her incessant lack of taste, it definitely has cut into her fan base.

As I've said, Tess is extremely talented and cute, and has a very nice body... but Cyber Girl of the Year?? Not even close. Tess' inked up skin is a disaster, and brings down the standard of holding such a high position. Indeed, this is a title that has had some amazing girls, like Amy Sue Cooper, Monica Leigh, and Jo Garcia, some of the best models in Playboy's history.

Now, to be fair, I'll stand back and assess Tess over the year. She has many chances to show that she deserves the title. If you remember, last year I adamantly wrote off the selection of Sharae Spears as CGOY. Although Sharae had an inconsistent showing throughout the year, she was awesomely talented in many of her photo sets, with an extraordinary physique and a load of talent. Do I still think other candidates would have done better? Definitely. But she certainly proved her might.

Will Tess prove me wrong, as Sharae did? I have full faith that she will. Although Jamie Graham would have been the dream girl for the job, Tess will listen to her detractors and turn in some very memorable performances.

_________________________

Speaking of Sharae, where does she rank in my ranking of the

best Cyber Girls ever? Take a look...

#1. Amy Sue Cooper ('05)

#2. Monica Leigh ('06)

#3. Jo Garcia ('08)

#4. Merritt Cabal ('03)

#5. Sharae Spears ('09)

#6. Erika Michelle Barre ('02)

#7. Alicia Burley ('04)

#8. Breann McGregor ('07)

2010 Cyber Girl of the Year Candidates

As we close in on April, the announcement of this year's Cyber Girl of the Year is imminent. The most prolific and perhaps most important position in the Playboy world, their fans all know that the CGOY has a chance to display her talents for a full year. That means, she'd better be good! This year, however, the field of Cyber Girls is extremely top-heavy. There is some great talent in the top 3 or 4, but there is a major dropoff after that. Anyone outside the top would be a very unfortunate choice. Let's take a look...

#12 Rebecca Lynn (January)

How She Got Here: Rebecca beat out Stephanie Strong, one of the best Cyber Girl of the Week candidates of 2009. That's saying something about how bad the voters screwed up. Stephanie would easily have been a CGOY contender, but sadly, she didn't get the chance.

The Good: Not a whole lot to say about Rebecca... but she does have a bit of variety in her poses.

The Bad: She doesn't have even a shred of talent in her pictorials. Her body is disproportionate, her photos are washed out, and her costumes are atrocious. You can fault Playboy all you want for their terrible production quality, but the bottom line is that Rebecca is just not very attractive.

#11 Jessa Lynn (October)

How She Got Here: Jessa beat out two great candidates: Heather Hughes and Anna Lynn. Heather was particularly clean-cut and beautiful, but Jessa's CGOW pictorial was deceivingly alluring.

The Good: Jessa's got a very interesting face, and her platinum locks make her an interesting girl to watch. She has a presence that may catch the audience's attention.

The Bad: Jessa simply is another repeat of the other "Lynn" on our list. Her interesting face is counterbalanced by a bawdy, gaudy look, with big hair and a full-on style that is anything but subtle. Her posing style is nothing but old and tiring, and we've seen this sort of Cyber Girl time and time again.

#10 Victoria Ivanova (December)

How She Got Here: Victoria certainly had the best performance of all of the August CGOW's, with a cute and polished pictorial. There's no mystery there, though Summer Lena was an intriguing number two.

The Good: Victoria certainly has a very intriguing look. She has an Eastern European look that sets her apart, and her posing style is both sensual and dynamic, with the producers doing a good job of showing off her versatility.

The Bad: Yes, it's true... Victoria's horrific boob job has dropped her from a potential top 5 all the way down to number 10. That's how bad it is. They look like large balloons hanging from her chest, and are a huge distraction on an otherwise pretty girl. It's a huge shame, since Victoria has ample talent, but that physical caveat truly hinders her position.

#9 Netty Maj (August)

How She Got Here: Netty was part of a very weak group of CGOW's back in April. None of the others are even worth mentioning, since Netty's pictorial was very sexy, unique, and spot-on.

The Good: The way Netty got here is through her main strength, and she displayed it in even more detail during August: she took on an all-natural, flowing style. Netty was always mesmerizing, and definitely the toughest girl to figure out... perhaps the most enigmatic model of all 2009. Netty's unique posing style is very passive, but deep and interesting. She's raw, doesn't wear a lot of makeup, and does everything very naturally.

The Bad: Perhaps Netty's strong points are her biggest problems, as well. While she is intriguing in her au natural look, she also lacks a whole lot of "pop" in the process. Netty's shy, reticent style puts her on a different stage from the other contenders, and puts her at a low profile. She's a bit less accessible than the others, but that's what makes her interesting. Still, she's not downright pretty enough to stand by passively.

#8 Jennifer Lewis (February)

How She Got Here: Jennifer's CGOW pictorial was gorgeous and mature, with Playmate-esque poise. She faced up against a strange and unique group, including Jane Taylor and Jennifer Kohut, who generally didn't have much of a chance.

The Good: Jennifer's look is very girl-next-door and outrageously stripped down. She is the ultimate "everygirl," with minimal makeup and no signs of enhancement. Her easy going style is also very endearing, and her overall friendliness makes her the "Miss Congeniality" of the 2009 class.

The Bad: What keeps Jennifer from being truly great, and in the top half of the 2009 class, is that she is woefully unpolished. The production team did absolutely nothing to help her out here... all of Jennifer's flaws are there for the public to see. This is a problem with many girls who make the transition to CGOM: they just don't have the natural looks to punch through the production quality of their CGOW pictorials. Jennifer suffers from this dearly, as she looks pale and disproportionate.

#7 Lauren D'Marie (March)

How She Got Here: Lauren had what was possibly the best CGOW pictorial of 2008. That's saying quite a bit, considering the competition. She was absolutely immaculate, and wholly engaging; Lauren was destined to become one of the great African American models in Playboy history, in my eyes.

The Good: Lauren has a perfect balance of natural beauty that really makes her worth looking into. Her face is beautiful - with a pouty stare or a wry smile, she delivers a very unique look. The production quality of her pictorials is also great, as they put her in perfect situations to perform at her very best. Her body proportions can't be argued against, as they complement her style wonderfully.

The Bad: I have a major question for the Playboy producers here: what happened?!? Lauren was a lock to be a major contender for Cyber Girl of the Year, as soon as I saw her CGOW pictorial. It was amazing to watch her soft features clash with color and style. In her CGOM pictorial, Lauren was reduced to a completely mediocre entrant. Her posing was boring and long-winded. Her hair was curled and frizzy, completely ruining the look that accentuated her legginess and height. The pictorials were overly dark and uncharacterized. What... happened?? Lauren turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of 2009.

#6 Carlie Christine (May)

How She Got Here: Carlie had another one of the best CGOW pictorials we saw in 2009. She was truly a bright spectacle that completely outshone her competitive opponents, Krystie Lena and Danielle Fornarelli. They had no chance against Carlie's bright eyes, though.

The Good: Carlie makes it to the top half of my ranking by simply being a beautiful girl. Her body is voluptuous and stacked proportionally, her face is gorgeous, and her eyes continue to twinkle as they did in her CGOW pictures. She continued to have a refined, stately look that gave her a clean but sensual feel. Her pictorials have some good costuming, and do a good job with matching her passive intensity.

The Bad: It seemed that Carlie lost a huge amount of her luster when she transitioned to the CGOM role. As with almost any of the other ladies, such as Lauren D'Marie, a lot of production quality is lost in the transition to the monthly crown, which exposes flaws and forces girls to tough it out with raw talent. Carlie is a beautiful girl with a great body, but that twinkle in her eyes just isn't the same at this stage. Her intriguing look is roughed up a bit, and you tend to see the flaws in her pale skin and inconsistent posing. Definitely not a CGOY-caliber performance.

#5 Cassie Keller (June)

How She Got Here: Cassie had an admirable debut pictorial in January of '09, but I felt that her selection was a pretty sizable upset over Chase Medley, who had a very wholesome and cute look. Cassie's pictorial held its own, though, with some bright colors and solid posing.

The Good: Cassie's strengths are not immediately apparent. Her style and appearance take some getting used to, but ultimately her greatest qualities are in her height and her posing. Even her great posing abilities do not come across that well in her pictorials, but as a Cyber Girl, videos are fair game, so you would be obliged to check them out. Cassie's video performances are easily some of the best of 2009, and she truly shines because of her congenial personality and her outstanding size. Her sinewy, leggy body is amazing to watch in motion, as she contorts and moves herself in ways that would boggle your mind. Not to mention, she's quite a sight to behold.

The Bad: The main problem with Cassie is what can keep her from being immediately attractive to all viewers: her posing ability and performance don't translate that well to her pictorials. In fact, most of her photos are poorly produced, with a complete lack of quality lighting or proper photography. Cassie is often made-up wrong, and has unflattering poses taken of her. However, if you haven't been able to give her a good look, skip the pictorials and check out her videos, as she definitely shines when she's in motion.

#4 Kaytee Bees (April)

How She Got Here: December 2008 was where it came time to select the "Cyber Girl 100" winner, who would become the 100th CGOM to be selected all-time. Kaytee shone in her pictorial, with a soft, exotic look that truly stole the show. She was understated in her looks, beating out the competition, with contrasting styles of the other candidates being shut out.

The Good: Though not as wholesome as she was in her CGOW days, Kaytee put on quite a show due to her posing prowess. Her flash and pomp throughout is hard to match, and she deals out dynamic poses and juicy sexual positions in every photo. Kaytee is very true to her style, and that style is one of unrelenting sensuality. She isn't very subtle with her actions, and delivers sizzling hotness with every picture. Having a body like hers also helps -- she's very voluptuous and buxom, with colossal breasts and a curvy body that brings the point across.

The Bad: Kaytee's got the style and body that fit what she's trying to bring to the table, and there's no doubting that. However, she ends up being very one-dimensional for the same reasons. In her CGOW pictorial, she had a good mix of everything, and came across as a wholesome girl-next-door who could "flip a switch" and turn into a sexual goddess in a flash. However, she loses that multidimensionality with her monthly debut, cutting out any sense of intrigue. Kaytee looks far too artificial, always made-up and overly enhanced. Her breasts look larger, and although they might not actually be, they are overstressed in her pictorial, and her body takes more precedence over her own skills.

#3 Tess Taylor Arlington (November)

How She Got Here: Tess beat out some pretty strong candidates with some pretty weak material. Brook Ericson seems like she had a chance, but Tess's performance was far more nuanced and mysterious, and was by far the most intriguing CGOW pictorial of the month.

The Good: Tess Arlington is, without a doubt, the biggest surprise of the 2009 Cyber Girl class. Not only is she a scrappy 20-year-old with a very unique face and personality, but she is outstandingly talented. She knows how to wear a sexy smirk in just the right way, just enough to tickle your curiosity and please the audience. She poses with unbelievable confidence, and carries herself with great professionalism. It almost feels like she's been doing this forever, and it just feels very natural. All in all, her pictorials are done beautifully, too. The producers capture her skin tone and style in a great way. Tess has a great balance of sexual passion as well as innocence, and is a great girl-next-door persona when she wants to be. Above it all, she has a chiseled, awesome body... probably one of the top 3 in the class. The style, the poise, the beauty... It's hard to express just how amazing Tess is.

The Bad: It is very unfortunate to say it, but Tess would be easily the #1 or 2 girl of the year if not for one fatal flaw: her tattoos. Normally, I can ignore some body art as long as it doesn't get in the way of most photos, but Tess has huge tapestries carved across her picturesque body. How she can mar such amazing skin is beyond me, and really brings her down to #3, in my eyes. If she didn't mess with perfection, Tess could catch the attention of many more fans, and could have gone down as one of the best Cyber Girls in history.

#2 Hillary Fisher (September)

How She Got Here: It was a simple path for Hillary - she started out in Playboy's "Girls of Hooters" feature, after which she became CGOW back in last May. There, she was an immediate hit, providing what was easily the best Cyber Girl of the Week pictorial of 2009. In doing so, she blew out her competition as a major fan favorite - the other girls aren't even worth mentioning here. Hillary's CGOW pictorial was extraordinary, and hit every good angle of her luscious body.

The Good: It's simple: Hillary Fisher is the epitome of sexy. She is probably the most outrightly photogenic model of all the CGOM's in the 2009 class, with a beautiful face and an equally busty body. Her slim stature and respectable proportions complement her incredibly tough, hard body. While not the best body of 2009, Hillary's certainly stacked far up there. What makes her my #2, however, is not her physique, but more in her overall friendliness in photographs. When Hillary hits a sexy pose, she does it with passion and a charming accessibility that gives her a massive fan following. On top of all that, she is very overtly sexual, but in a playful way. She could be your girl next door, but you can also picture her being outright raunchy when she feels it, and she does a great job of conveying attitude in her pictorial.

The Bad: Hillary could easily have been the best model, far and away, of the year. The caveat that kept her from reaching the summit was, without a doubt, her poor CGOM performance. If you add it all up, she has a perfect face, an amazing body, and a photogenic quality that makes her timeless. However, her CGOW pictorial was far and away her best work. Her CGOM series was an utter disappointment. The production quality vastly suffered, and besides her final pictorial series (May 18th), she didn't offer much in the way of quality photos. In fact, she has a hard time being consistent in these photos, and oftentimes looks uptight and misses her poses. It's actually incredible that I could rank her so high, but that is just a testament to how gorgeous she is, inherently. Without those striking good looks, she would have been a disaster, given what she had to work with. This amazing girl deserves a shot at CGOY, to showcase what she can really do with lots of time.

#1 Jamie Graham (July)

How She Got Here: Jamie created loads of fan buzz when she appeared in a spread for last year's "Girls of the Big 10" college issue, where she showed off her serious body for all to see. She then took a feature as CGOW, where her legend grew through a series of playful, college-themed shots that easily blew past the weak competition. Still now, Jamie carries this close following as she heads into the CGOY race.

The Good: There is only one place to start when you talk about just how hot Jamie Graham is: she has a fantastic body. There are no two ways about it, Jamie has what is probably the best body of any Playboy model of 2009. That's a tall order, but just take one look at her picture-perfect physique, and you should agree that it's better than perfect. Her breasts are taut, her back is curvy, and her butt is absolutely perfect. Her whole body, from head to toe (and yes, including those amazing legs) is absolutely toned, muscular, and the ultimate picture of femininity. Ok, all of this gushing aside, Jamie isn't just a (hot) piece of meat. She is also an impeccable poser, with an amazing attention to detail and a great sense for the camera and environment. She has a very general, girl-next-door demeanor, yet unleashes a tide of sexual energy in every photo, making her a very enigmatic model, and one that always stays interesting. Jamie is truly the strongest candidate for Cyber Girl of the Year, given her cult-like following and near perfect execution of nude modeling. She is absolutely the most promising Cyber Girl since Jo Garcia, and that's saying quite a bit.

The Bad: It's tough to pinpoint flaws in Jamie, but to be straightforward, her looks are not for everyone. Sometimes, her face may be her ultimate flaw, as she is uneasy with her smiles, and looks different from separate angles. Her hair can also look too conservative at times, and she can sometimes use a rougher look to complement her physical beauty. Still, Jamie's got the most momentum in the CGOY race, and should be formidable. Wouldn't it be amazing to see 12 months of that body?

The Right Moves

So, with a year of disappointment in the Cyber Girl Class of '09, we have to look forward to next year's ladies and the potential that can lift up a faltering group. With a good CGOY pick (Hillary Fisher or Jamie Graham) and a nice crop of ladies to kick off the 2010 class, the tone can be set for an amazing year.

So, to my delight, we've already got some amazing CGOW's lined up for a daunting run at the 2011 Cyber Girl of the Year crown. Now, I know it's real early to be looking so far ahead, but what we may be seeing is a couple of excellent talents making their very first debuts... the first of many.

In came Mariela Henderson last week, a girl who should run away with her month's CGOM nomination. The reason is quite simple: Mariela is a small package with plenty of bite, and the bite is all in her build. I can't wait to see what else she has to offer, because in her CGOW pictorial, the photographer focused extremely well on her lower body.

Mariela quite possibly has the nicest legs of any girl to appear in Playboy in years. I'm not usually one to tout a nice pair of stems, but Mariela's are beyond reproach. They are visibly toned, very pleasantly muscular, and they just look juicy and sexy. She's not a very tall girl (a mere 5'2"), so she isn't the "leggy" type, per se. However, those sultry thighs come up to meet a gorgeously curved butt, which is so toned, yet so plump, it's just tough to describe.

When it comes down to it, Mariela has a very nice lower body (buttocks and legs), but her upper body doesn't balance it so well, with some small breasts. She has a decently cute face, albeit not quite so smoothly toned and beautiful as many others. Still, if photographers concentrate on her strengths, where she goes above and beyond, she could be a bigtime success.

One girl who truly wowed me today was an Italian beauty by the name of Daniella Mugnolo. Daniella left me dazed and mesmerized, simply because she's the all-around package. With great height (5'8") while still being very slender (115 lbs.), Daniella is very proportioned while being sexy and sleek. Her number one strength, however, is her sexuality.

In her CGOW pictorial, a recycle of her "Fresh Faces" edition, Daniella is stunning. Wearing a silky little piece of lingerie in the shower, she strips it off perfectly and slowly for the camera, and does a great job with every little move and glimmer in her eyes. She has that European charm, but definitely has an American bite when it comes to her approach to her pictorials. She is extremely sexual, being aggressive when she gets fully naked, and not being the least bit bashful about throwing out a full-frontal assault.

My advice to Playboy: don't mess too much with this formula you have going for Daniella. She is immaculate. Her facial expressions are extremely engaging, with those pouty lips and those sleepy, dark eyes taking on a sexual, hedonistic tone. As long as she's shot the same way... no gimmicks, just let the model move and be herself... Daniella can go very far, and perhaps challenge for CGOY in 2011.

Those are my two MVP's so far for next year. Here's to a great one!

Messing With Perfection

As this year's Cyber Girl of the Month class has been far less than stellar, one hopeful that I and many others had pinpointed from the very start, Hillary Fisher, just had her time in the spotlight. After having a stellar showing as CGOW months ago, Hillary looked to be the one to steal the year's final prize and take it to the house with ease.

After a month of Hillary's features, I can safely say that there is no doubt she will be a force this year in the running for CGOY 2010. I mean, there really is no competition from anyone else -- except, of course, fo

r Jamie Graham, whose CGOM performance was second to none. Surely, Hillary, with all of her outstanding sexiness and awesome talent could surely sweep everyone and dominate the year? Well, let's take a look first.

While it's true that Hillary is head and shoulders above almost all of the girls so far this year, in other years she would be in a bit of trouble. With an uninspired and flat performance in her pictorials, the ever-so-sexy Miss Fisher was unimpressive. Even in her first pictorial, things just didn't transpire right, and the production value suffered. Her best photo was a bit of an oddity, and needed a gimmick pose to be sexy. Although ultimately Hillary's cut, toned body was very attractive, it just seemed to not go anywhere.

Things only got worse in Week 2, with some amateurish posing and horrid photography. It just seemed to not go anywhere, and only seemed to waste the talent that she had. The curls in the hair just made it seem frizzy and unkempt. Her body wasn't lit right, and so it seemed to not have the dynamic curvature and volume that it did before.

Admittedly, Hillary is, in the end, the best looking girl of 2009. She is just drop dead sexy, and in Week 3 she picked up the slack and delivered some very good shots. Taking on a more nuanced and subtle posing style, she did a great job with innocent photos like this one, and this excellent full body shot showing off her great look in natural lighting. As I mentioned, Hillary looks so good when lighting is used sparingly, and when she's allowed to move around with lighter, more natural gestures. When the photographers ruin her pictorials with overproduction and overdirection, you get the problems seen in her other weeks.

When you look at her and take a step back, you see the same awesome model as in her CGOW pictorial: strong, sexy, forceful and dynamic in her posing. She takes charge in front of the camera, and when she is comfortable in her own skin, she shines. When Playboy gets in the way and tries to do too much (overdoing her hair, her set, her posing direction), things go wrong. I'm sure that she could do more, but ultimately, the best showing of the year is still in the hands of Jamie Graham, who show

ed near-perfect posing talents and an even sexier body than Hillary.

Consensus...

Facial: A

Hillary's greatest strength is her bright smile and gorgeous natural looks that set her far apart from the rest of the 2009 class.

Body: B+

Hillary keeps her body very toned and has awesome proportions. However, a questionable set of breast implants and skin that's not always flawless in front of the cameras sets her back.

Talent: B+

We all know what Hillary has the capability of doing, but she takes too much direction from photographers and producers. When she gets into a natural groove, she soars.

Pictorials: B-

Again, Hillary has loads of potential. However, her showing in her CGOM set was extremely mediocre, and at times below average. She has to concentrate more on being natural and using her acute presence.

Videos: B

Hillary doesn't look great in motion, often seeming robotic and unnatural. Again, it might be a product of her being out of her comfort zone, but she looks far better in photos.

Overall: B+

While offering a better showing than almost all of the other entrants in 2009, Hillary fell far short of expectations. Her pictorials are some of the bigger disappointments in 2009, but I can still root for her chance to win CGOY 2010, because of her massive potential. If she has several months to offer retribution and to show off what she can really do, I'll take them in a heartbeat. Still, she was outshone by fellow CGOM Jamie Graham this year, since Jamie's overall performance was far stronger.

A Legend In The Rough

Throughout every year, there is an ebb and flow when it comes to Playboy's leading ladies. Oftentimes, the Playmates and Cyber Girls are out of sync, with one race being completely devoid of decent candidates while the other is absolutely breathtaking and groundbreaking. It's never both at once, always one or the other.

2009 has been a wondrous year for Playmates. We've had girls like Dasha Astafieva, Jessica Burciaga, Hope Dworaczyk, and Candice Cassidy in the mix, all contributing to a stellar class. And it just looks like there's more excellent material to come, with sinewy, luscious redhead Kimberly Phillips, who looks extremely promising, and could be a true candidate for 2010's PMOY.

On the other hand, the race for Cyber Girl 2010 is not quite so nice. It's been a mixed-up, mashed-up race with disappointing entrants left and right. March's Lauren D'Marie was the first candidate with seeming potential, but she crashed and burned by deviating from her captivating CGOW look. Kaytee Bees, the Cyber Girl 100 winner, was not necessariily up to par with her billing, but was moderately cute. Carlie Christine lost every bit of luster she had in her cute CGOW pictorial. Cassie Keller picked things up, but is not a real, truly viable CGOY candidate.

So who stepped up to the plate? Well, in 2008's Girls of the Big Ten college girls pictorial, one girl really stood out to readers, and personally caught my eye, as well. I'm talking about Jamie Graham, who had a stunning series of two photos in that pictorial that were truly amazing. Even with only two photos, you could see that her body was just phenomenal up and down. Lo and behold, Jamie won some recognition with this showing, and is our July Cyber Girl of the Month.

Jamie is an honorable mention this year because she is not only the best Cyber Girl of 2009, but may well become one of the all-time legendary Cyber Girls. Everything comes together when you witness Jamie, her engaging posing style, her breathtaking posing talents, and you just cannot omit her nearly flawless, cut body.

Firstly, Jamie has an amazing sense for the camera. She plays into it and each and every shot counts when she gets in front of it. Much like eternal Cyber Girl greats like Amy Sue Cooper or Jo Garcia, Jamie has a true knack for posing in the nude. When she arches that back and lets it all spill out, her sexuality oozes and comes in heavy. It is relentless and stunning in every photo and video that she is in, and for such a seemingly low-key girl with her clothes on, she absolutely transforms when all the lingerie flutters off.

That's the most endearing thing about Jamie... the fact that she can absolutely transform before your eyes before she switches gears. Jamie can start out as a wholesome girl with parted, straight locks of hair and an innocent half-grin. Then, she can turn it all around by showing off a body that is second to none, with plump, full breasts, a wonderfully toned backside, and a flat, cut belly that just looks as hard as a rock when you view it. All that is combined with flawless, milky skin that masks a powerful and well-maintained fortress of femininity.

Consensus...
When it comes down to it, Jamie is by far the best we've seen this year, and may go down as the best model of the year when all is said and done. She might be the ultimate retribution for a poor CGOY choice for 2009 (Sharae Spears), and may go down as one of the great CGOY's of all time, taking her rightful place among greats like Jo, Merritt, and Amy Sue. Altogether, she has what it takes to go all the way -- the only thing in her way is competition that might come down the road later this year. If all goes normally, there will not be another girl who can replicate the sensuality and the absolute physical perfection that Jamie possesses. This girl is simply too hot to pass over... we might have a true star on our hands.

Jamie's Scorecard (click to enlarge)

The Real CGOY

Robbed. Robbed! That's the best way to describe the nomination of Sharae Spears as 2009's Cyber Girl of the Year. I've recapped the years of CGOY's since 2002, and marveled at how the past choices have all been from the cream of the crop as far as Cyber Girls go. Past CGOYs, like Monica Leigh, Amy Sue Cooper, and this past year's Jo Garcia are all some of the most beautiful women ever to become part of the Playboy family. This year's upsetting result broke that tradition, picking a majority favorite without any real identity at all.

So who should have been CGOY 2009? The luscious Tasha Nicole? Buxom Jia Lynn? Cute-as-a-button Trina Marie? Not a single one... the real winner only made it to the first round, and not any further.

Dana Dicillo was a little piece of heaven from Las Vegas, Cyber Girl of the Week for March 17th, 2008. She lost to Heidi Wheeler, a relative Playboy insider with connections as a bunny in the industry. The loss was plain unfair, because Dana was, bar-none, the sexiest girl of 2008. Dana deserved to win CGOM in July, and to move on to become CGOY for this year. Why? Because Dana has the "it" factor to be an enduring Playboy symbol.

Dana proved it to me with her "Good Fortune" pictorial this New Years, 2009. Dana absolutely floored me in what was one of the very best pictorials I'd ever seen. Dana's body was shining in a brilliant glowing light provided by the production crew, with this initial shot making my jaw drop. As Dana spreads her petite 4'11" frame along those white sheets in a classic, gorgeous, tried and true theme, she looks visually stunning. As Dana continues to strip off her undies in every little flowing move, she looks like a girl with years of modeling experience.

The key to Dana is her angelic appearance. With those eyes, which very well might be some of the greatest eyes to appear in Playboy EVER, Dana is radiant and devastatingly pretty. One look from those eyes and with that slim, sleek body to back it up, and it's hard to argue that Dana has any equals in the Playboy scene. Those sexual hands and lips take it to another level, as well, as Dana really does a great job going from scene to scene with flawless sensuality. As Dana finishes off the pictorial with that amazing stare, it's hard not to have to hold your breath and take her in. This girl is absolutely one-of-a-kind, and might be a girl for the ages.

It was a plain injustice for Dana not to take it all for 2008. It's she who should be popping up on our screens when we click on our monthly "Cyber Girl of the Year" feature on the Club. Dana is a thing of beauty, an almost heavenly goddess who certainly deserves a chance to show all her glory in additional material as soon as she can. What was everyone thinking???


One parallel I can draw is that of Hillary Fisher, a Cyber Girl of the Week earlier this month, and someone who I gave an "A" rating earlier. Hillary should be on the fast track to CGOM, and possibly after that to CGOY stardom, but this is all too familiar. Granted, she has the existing fame coming in from doing Special Editions material, but this had better not go awry. Hillary has met her toughest competition of the month this week, in the emergence of the very beautiful Markesa Yeager. However, Miss Yeager is only a pushover compared to Hillary, who is in many cases the model of a lifetime. We can only wait and hope that the past doesn't repeat itself...

Cyber World

A lot's been going on in the world of Cyber Girls, from top to bottom: there are plenty of developments in the CGOM world, with two new great runners for next year's CGOY title. Not to mention, we have crowned a new official Cyber Girl of the Month. And to top it all off, we've got a couple of extremely exciting candidates emerging as CGOWs, including this week's new emerging contender. So let's get started!

Let's start at the top... with Sharae Spears, who was recently crowned CGOY. If you look back to my rankings, you'll remember that Sharae was nowhere near the top for me, in fact, she came in at a measly #8, and for good reason. As I said, this was one of the stronger Cyber Girls years as of late, and the candidates were rife with talent. The pool was deep, and the top three were amazingly beautiful, with Tasha Nicole, Trina Marie, and Jia Lynn all being stellar candidates who could have put on breathtaking performances in their reign.

Who do we get instead?? Absolute mediocrity!! This has to be one of the biggest missteps Playboy has made in recent years, along with Dana Dicillo's snub earlier last year. One flub I can take, but SHARAE WINNING THE YEAR'S CROWN?!? This is just ridiculous. Sharae is pretty, but has nowhere near the kind of talent needed to deliver month after month on the big year's stage.

Aside from that, it looks like Playboy's changed to formatting for the way they're doing the CGOY feature. Gone are the days of Jo Garcia's prolific set of 12 months' pictorials, or Monica Leigh's breathtaking performance over the course of the year. Now, we got unprofessional, boring blog posts and shoddy material. Is that what the fans deserve? A girl we didn't vote for, giving us crappy material??

To put a positive spin on things, I can at least look forward to next year's CGOY. Yes, it might be early, but with this result, I can't help but look forward (HOW could they deny Tasha or Jia another shot??) First, we have last month's Cyber Girl 100 winner, Kaytee Bees.

Kaytee was my pick for CG 100, and although the candidates weren't really extraordinary in the first place, Kaytee really stuck out with her CGOW pictorial set. Kaytee did a great job with her CGOM pictorial sets, too, showing a bit of an edgier side than she'd previously shown. Kaytee is extremely busty, which surprised me because somehow I missed that big detail when I first looked her over. Also, Kaytee's cute face has soft features and is unique in a sort of exotic way, mainly in her eyes, which are extremely seductive when she focuses them and gives a squinty, quick look.

The bottom line with Kaytee is that she is a well-deserved winner as the 100th Cyber Girl of the Month, with an excellently curvaceous body that's overly extravagant with its curves. In fact, they can sometimes be a bit too much for the eye to behold, as Kaytee truly excels when the camerawork is made to subtly accentuate her body, without going too overboard. She's a definite Cyber Girl of the Year candidate for 2010, and her performance in her Week 4 videos may throw her over the top if enough fans take a good look at them. Kaytee is a very talented poser, and her strip teases are extremely engaging and active.



Consensus... B+

Kaytee Bees
Cyber Girl 100 Winner
Cyber Girl of the Month
April 2009




This month's girl, May's Carlie Christine, is also a real looker. She was my choice to emerge from her CGOW competition, and for plenty of reasons. Carlie had a sort of classical look to her, a quintessential bright-eyed Playmate who hearkens back to the 1960's, when the starlet-esque gaze was all the rage. Although Carlie's lost that production value a little bit with the transition over to CGOM, she still looks radiant in her photos. Carlie is a real natural beauty, and it's my hope that Playboy doesn't over-sexualize her and make her into a "porn star," and lose the luscious charm that she embraced so well as a CGOW. It's a little startling how much of that sparkle Carlie's lost in the transition already, and hopefully the photographers will bring that luster back in the next two weeks.

Getting all the way to the nitty-gritty of recent developments, let's take a look at a long-awaited Cyber Girl of the Week appearance, Hillary Fisher. Hillary has appeared in numerous Playboy Special Editions features, but fans always felt that she deserved a higher stage because of her great sense of professionalism and immaculate beauty. Well, that wait has come to an end, as Hillary has gotten her chance to shine on the big stage with her CGOW pictorial coming out today. The expectations were high, but the general fan consensus is that Hillary absolutely hit it out of the park.

Hillary looks so extraordinary in her pictorial, she absolutely floored me in it. The hard spotlighting upon her finely tanned skin looks breathtaking, and the photographers really did a great job with the production on her set.

And hey, a hot model doesn't hurt, either. Hillary has been a longtime fan favorite because of just how sexy her body is, and how positively radiant her face looks. Her body, a slim, petite, rock hard work of art, is tight and fit. And, it's curvy in all the right places. On top of that, Hillary has one of the most beautiful and dynamic faces you can find anywhere in Playboy. She's got a hundred different looks, and her infections, pearly white smile is to die for.

Ultimately, Hillary is one of the most exciting CGOW's to emerge since Lauren D'Marie. If you take into account Lauren's flop of a CGOM pictorial, then you could go all the way back to June 2008's Tasha Nicole for an equivalently exciting pictorial. Hillary, in my mind, is not just an early favorite for CGOM for her respective month, but for 2010's Cyber Girl of the Year nomination. If all goes well, Hillary could have a spectacular showing as CGOM, as long as Playboy doesn't stray from the formula that makes her spectacular. If all of that goes well, we could be witnessing the ascent of one of the great Cyber Girls of all-time.

Too early? Hey, after Sharae's win, I've got to keep hope. Perhaps it's Hillary that will usher in the "return" of the Cyber Girl?




Consensus... A

Hillary Fisher
Cyber Girl of the Week
5/11/2009

2009 Cyber Girl of the Year Candidates

With the time we have left before the imminent Cyber Girl of the Year announcement, I've decided to curtail the long, descriptive reviews of each of the girls in the running, and instead give a very short synopsis on what I think about each candidate, along with ratings and a ranking. Sorry for not having made a longer, more in-depth record, but hopefully this will suffice. Needless to say, no matter how I rate these ladies, this CGOY race will be one of the tighter ones of all time, because of just how many extraordinary girls popped up all throughout. Enjoy...

Meghan Allen - January

When I first saw Meghan in her CGOY spread, I had very high expectations. She failed to match them by a mile, as soon as I saw how unpolished her posing was. Although she has a fantastic body, she didn't necessarily start off 2009 with a bang, and she fell off the radar for the year's title as soon as she made her debut.
Consensus...
Posing: B-
Body: A-
Face: B+
Material: B-
Overall: B-

Amanda Hanshaw - February

Amanda's very outrageous proportions are what got her the CGOM nomination in February, but when it came down to it, she couldn't hold her own in terms of professional, interesting posing talent. Even her massive plastic implants couldn't make up for her complete lack of any spark.
Consensus...
Posing: B-
Body: B+
Face: B
Material: C+
Overall: B-

Trina Marie - March

As far as I was concerned, the year could have ended here in March. Trina was extraordinary in terms of her unique beauty and understated sultryness. She had loads of talent, but didn't always seem very comfortable in her role until later on in her apperance. Weeks 3 and 4 were fantastic, and, in my mind, made her a top contender for the CGOY prize. Her cute face would be a joy to see year-round, but I'm still questioning her ability to pose with lots of variety for 12 monthly featurettes.
Consensus...
Posing: B+
Body: B+
Face: A
Material: A
Overall: A

Destiny White - April

Destiny's task of following Trina wasn't a simple one, but she was an interesting girl in this age of curvier bodies and tanner skin. She is a bit of a truer "girl next door" candidate with an adorable sense of spunkiness to her. Although she isn't the best or most interesting poser, and cannot be a serious contender for CGOY, she was cute and worldly enough to be a nice breather for the midway point of the year.
Consensus...
Posing: B
Body: B
Face: B+
Material: B+
Overall: B

Alexandra Penovich - May

A midwestern beauty with a smooth body and an interesting look, fans are generally torn about Alex. Some love her, and some think the total opposite. I personally happen to think she's a very nice pick for CGOM, particularly because she has a cute sense of sensuality that really comes a cross in her posing. She does a great job of getting cuddly with the camera, and sometimes turning on the heat and knowing what looks good in pictures. Her body's also a real tight package, seemingly having all the right moves. One thing that folks take issue with is her face, which might not appeal to everyone. It might be the only fatal flaw that keeps Alex from being in the top three.
Consensus...
Posing: A-
Body: A-
Face: B-
Material: B+
Overall: B+

Amanda English - June

By far the weakest girl in the 2008 Cyber Girl class, Amanda fell completely flat with her pictorials and videos. While she did look promising in her CGOW entry, Amanda is simply a dull model with very little to offer in an age where models have to make a serious impact in order to get noticed. Amanda's short hair and tried-and-boring style just doesn't cut it.
Consensus...
Posing: C
Body: B
Face: B
Material: C
Overall: C

Heidi Wheeler - July

The second half of the year ushered in a string of Cyber Girls that comprise one of the most competitive classes ever. It started with Heidi Wheeler, a Playboy insider who beat out huge fan favorite Dana Dicillo (an issue I still have a bone to pick with Playboy about... probably the biggest mistake of 2008!!). Heidi won, and she put out a performance that showed that she can really contend with the best. The main comment I have with Heidi is that she is on and off in terms of her posing talent, but her body is by far the best of all the girls' in 2008. Look over her videos and pictorials, and compare them with the others, and you'll see why. Heidi is stacked, hard, and has a breathtaking figure. If that was all that was needed, we could give her the crown right away.
Consensus...
Posing: B+
Body: A+
Face: B+
Material: B
Overall: B+

Sharae Spears - August

Sharae is a true summergirl Playboy model with a cute Barbie doll face and a nice, innocent smile. She's also a bigtime fan favorite, and currently leads in many of the major fan polls. This was surprising to me because I felt Sharae had a lot to offer, but lacked the bigtime talent to carry her through to a CGOY nomination, or anywhere close to it. Sharae just wouldn't cut it with such a large load of pictorial material to do... although she's pretty and looks great naked, her photos just don't come out with the sort of pizzazz you'd expect from a truly great model. A middling woman isn't what we're looking for here.
Consensus...
Posing: B
Body: B
Face: B+
Material: B-
Overall: B

Jia Lynn - September

In terms of sheer professionalism and impact on the 2009 race, no girl made a bigger splash than Jia Lynn. Her CGOM debut was anticipated for months ever since she released her hugely popular Cyber Girl of the Week feature, but no one expected her to completely come out of the gate firing on all cylinders. Jia is wildly talented, interesting, and has a penchant for being extremely photogenic and likeable. Her body is near perfect, and she moves like an angel in her videos. She has every "it" factor to be CGOY, and is certainly tops in the running.
Consensus...
Posing: A
Body: A
Face: B
Material: A-
Overall: A

Tasha Nicole - October

Tasha was also highly anticipated since her debut in her CGOW pictorial, and for all the right reasons, just like with Jia. It was an excellent one-two punch when they came out consecutively, immediately spicing up an already interesting race toward the end of the year. I personally preferred Tasha's look in her CGOW pictorial, simply because it was so polished and sexual, and didn't have much room for flaws because of its short length. With a full four-week feature, Tasha showed that she is pretty flawed in being able to push a pictorial all the way from beginning to end. There are hits and misses with her photographs, but when it comes down to it, she's got far more raw sexuality than any other girl in 2008, and boy, does she have one heck of a body. It's athletic, long, and golden brown. If she posed more consistently, she'd be a perfect candidate.
Consensus...
Posing: B
Body: A
Face: B+
Material: B+
Overall: A-

Debbie Beal - November

Debbie didn't catch my eye until I started to peruse her material more carefully. I was very pleasantly surprised with what I found -- a simple, straightforward model with a new look and an absolutely adorable face, wrapped in a sexy, trim body and an engaging feel for the camera. She stole my heart for a bit, and... what can I say... I was wooed. But it takes a little exploration, and she's not always a hit. When Debbie does hit, however, with those big eyes and those cute pearly whites, she's hard not to love.
Consensus...
Posing: B+
Body: B
Face: A
Material: B
Overall: B+

Kristina Jarvis - December

The last girl of the year has been getting constant mushy adoration from fans from all over. She's unique, she's feminine, she's a very mature poser with a seductive face... but through it all, I haven't been very impressed by Kristina. She doesn't have the "it" factor, although she is very pretty. None of her material tends to jump out at you, and although she's a beautiful young lady, like so many other girls this year, she just hasn't found a way to stack up well against this fierce competition. It's a tough year to compete for mediocre girls, but they were fun to watch along the way.
Consensus...
Posing: B-
Body: B
Face: B+
Material: B
Overall: B

Final Rankings:
12. Amanda English
11. Amanda Hanshaw
10. Meghan Allen
9. Kristina Jarvis
8. Sharae Spears
7. Destiny White
6. Alexandra Penovich
5. Heidi Wheeler
4. Debbie Beal
3. Tasha Nicole
2. Jia Lynn
1. Trina Marie

One thing I definitely can predict right now is that there are going to be plenty of disagreements when the winner emerges. I suspect that many folks won't agree with my assessment and final ranking, and believe me, it was very, very difficult to put these girls in any particular order. Tasha, Jia, and Trina were simple to rank for me, since I felt these three ladies were head-and-shoulders above all the other ladies in the field. The rest were a muddled mass of girls, some indistinguishable even after four weeks of material to sort through.

I picked Trina to come out on top because of that special something that she brought to the table. Jia was more polished, Tasha was more raunchy, but Trina was a girl that was almost tangible, that you could almost feel. Not to mention, she's incredibly beautiful in so many ways. Won't be long before we find out the winner... this could get nasty.